Reasons to not vote for Tony

“The problem with the Australian practice of abortion is that an objectively grave matter has been reduced to a question of the mother’s convenience.”

“If half the effort were put into discouraging teenage promiscuity as goes into preventing teenage speeding, there might be fewer abortions, fewer traumatised young women and fewer dysfunctional families.”

“Why isn’t the fact that 100,000 women choose to end their pregnancies regarded as a national tragedy approaching the scale, say, of Aboriginal life expectancy being 20 years less than that of the general community?”

– From an address to the Adelaide University Democratic Club, 17 March 2004.

“Since 1996, contrary to poltical correctness, the Australian parliament has overturned right-to-kill laws and (almost) banned gay marriage. Perhaps a political constituency may even be starting to emerge to ban abortions after 20 weeks. “

“If an application did come to me, I would have to satisfy myself that compelent doctors would administer the drug in safe circumstances to women who had fully considered the alternatives and understood the risks”

“Even if dispossession is taken to mean that government has a higher responsibility to Aborigines than to other Australians, the production of beautiful art and connectedness to the land does not warrant the maintenance of a way of life also characterised by unemployment, substance abuse and domestic violence. If people choose to live in difficult to service places, that’s their business.”

“I think it would be folly to expect that women will ever dominate or even approach equal representation in a large number of areas simply because their aptitudes, abilities and interests are different for physiological reasons”

– Quote from an undergraduate piece he wrote on feminism, featured in this GetUp ad that also highlights other quotes.

TONY JONES: So are you making a case against teaching in indigenous languages? Is that what – I’m trying to get on top of the point you’re making.

“…Jesus didn’t say yes to everyone. I mean Jesus knew that there was a place for everything and it is not necessarily everyone’s place to come to Australia.”

“Now, I know that there are some Aboriginal people who aren’t happy with Australia Day. For them it remains Invasion Day. I think a better view is the view of Noel Pearson, who has said that Aboriginal people have much to celebrate in this country’s British Heritage”

“The Government accepts that some 14 and 15-year-olds might prefer that their parents not know about the medical procedures they have had or the prescription drugs they are on. But children should not be presumed to be the best judges of their own long-term interests and should not have the right to go behind their parents’ backs… The real issue here is whether 14 and 15-year-olds can make informed decisions about what is right and wrong for them. And if they don’t have that capacity, should they be allowed to operate in a moral and ethical vacuum?”

“The point I make in the book is that a society… is surely capable of providing additional recognition to what might be thought of as traditional marriage…. Something akin to a Matrimonial Causes Act marriage ought to be an option for people who would like it.”

“It’s the responsibility of government to try to put policies in place which over time will allow people to improve their situation. But we can’t abolish poverty because poverty in part is a function of individual behaviour.

We can’t stop people drinking; we can’t stop people gambling; we can’t stop people having substance problems; we can’t stop people from making mistakes that cause them to be less well-off than they might otherwise be. “

“Western civilisation came to this country in 1788 and I’m proud of that…”

“I’d always been against the death penalty but that contemplating the enormity of certain sort of crimes I sometimes thought that some crimes were so hideous that if the punishment were to fit maybe we were left with no alternative but the death penalty.”

Mr Speaker, we have a bizarre double standard; a bizarre double standard in this country where some-one who kills a pregnant woman’s baby is guilty of murder, but a woman who aborts an unborn baby is simply exercising choice.

Racism used to be offered as the complete explanation for Aboriginal poverty, alienation and early death. Racism hasn’t disappeared. Still, if racism caused poverty, why hasn’t poverty declined as racism diminished.

“What the housewives of Australia need to understand as they do the ironing is that if they get it done commercially it’s going to go up in price and their own power bills when they switch the iron on are going to go up, every year….”

” I think there does need to be give and take on both sides, and this idea that sex is kind of a woman’s right to absolutely withhold, just as the idea that sex is a man’s right to demand I think they are both they both need to be moderated, so to speak”

Thaumaturgicalsaid

An excellent demonstration of how horrible and conservative Tony Abbott is, and why I will not be voting for him on August 21.

Also, for the record:

“I think it would be folly to expect that women will ever dominate or even approach equal representation in a large number of areas simply because their aptitudes, abilities and interests are different for physiological reasons”

– Quote from an undergraduate piece he wrote on feminism

This was in Honi Soit the University of Sydney student newspaper, in 1979.

I generally believe that what is written in undergraduate years stays in undergraduate years, after all university is a process of learning. It is just that with T Abbott. I have no confidence he has learned better and moved on from that attitude.

Katie Hughessaid

I heard Dutton today refer to Nicola Roxon as ‘shrill’ and ‘hysterical’. My gut feeling is that these are men slightly older than me who hold extremely misogynist perspectives as if that was normal. The point is that almost NO-ONE my age hold such views unless they are unbalanced in some odd way. Conclusion: these are unusual men, with unusually ancient perspectives who are seeking to run the country. They work in a self-affirming culture where such utterances appear reasonable….but to the rest of the world they are from the Jurassic era and not too far removed from the Taliban.

Leahsaid

wizardsaid

Maybe Thaumatturgical should read a few of the undergrad articles that one Julia Gillard wrote. as a borderline communist her articles embraced higher taxes, reintroduction of death duties and other such wonderful things.

Or maybe read a few of her more recent comments such as when she didnt want to give working mothers the maternity benefit or pensioners an increase because they didnt support labor!

Rophuinesaid

While I don’t mean to defend Tony’s position, that last quote is very out of context. The context was a difficult discussion on maintaining healthy relationships where the partners have vastly different sex drives. His wording is terrible and the implication is unfortunate, but he’s not implying a restriction on a woman’s right to say no, but rather that in a long-term relationship where one partner wants lots of sex and one wants none, neither extreme position is tenable.

If I’m reading that incorrectly and he did in fact mean that a man might, under any sort of circumstances, have the right to have sex with a woman who doesn’t want to, then I retract all of that.

Most of the rest of the quotes still say to me “someone I don’t want in charge of the country”. I just think that when you’re trying to discredit someone, you need to be absolutely credible yourself, and I feel like that quote is disingenuous.

natsaid

Rophuine: Context schmontext. Lets just cut that down into one little bit of his statement:

“and this idea that sex is kind of a woman’s right to absolutely withhold”.

You know I don’t know or care what the context of this is. It is NEVER ok to say something like this. No context makes this OK. He is a drop-kick for saying this in ANY context. I feel sorry for his daughters.

And as for trying to discredit him, nobody needs to; he does it to himself. Any woman who casts a vote that ultimately leads to a liberal party member elected, and contributes to his government winning the election is a traitor, based solely on the fact that he ever uttered this filth

natsaid

“I think there does need to be give and take on both sides, and this idea that sex is kind of a woman’s right to absolutely withhold, just as the idea that sex is a man’s right to demand I think they are both they both need to be moderated, so to speak”

and then add his “Are you suggesting to me that when it comes from Julia, ‘No’ doesn’t mean ‘No’.” Even though I’ve seen the argument on line that he was actually defending Julia Gillard. he was the one who chose to use the phrase “no doesn’t mean no” in relation to our PRIME MINISTER for Pete’s sake.

You know what, those two things together tell me that Tony Abbot is a sexist, misogynist ass and there is NO defending him.

This election is not about policies. When a political party can put a man like Tony Abbott into a position where he may become Prime Minister, that indicates something fundamentally wrong with the system. Policies come and go, the system is what we need to worry about.

fuckpolitenesssaid

I just wanted to come and say a hearty ‘thank you’ for putting this together caitlinate. I’ve been so horrified in the last few weeks that I’ve gone into utter denial, and I think the combo of the High Court victory, followed by reading all collected in one spot has galvanised me into thinking hard about what else I could do to stop Abbott. Successful or not the effort is worth it.

Amandasaid

The consistency of the themes in Tony’s statements cannot be ignored. During the campaign he has been trying to temper them but this collection just lays it out unequivocally. Tony as PM would be a disaster for women,aboriginal australians and gay people. However as already pointed out the really shameful and worrying is that he has achieved his leadership position in Australia today.

Msaid

Specifically he says “I think it would be impossible to have a good general education without at least some serious familiarity with the Bible and with the teachings of Christianity. That doesn’t mean that people have to be believers.”

That is a long way from calling for school prayers. I don’t think it’s even code for it.

The bible has influenced our history and language a great deal and it’s useful to have some idea what the loaves and fishes are, or Jesus’s reported attitude to the rich or to sex workers, or of the old testament god’s enjoyment of genocide.

Jeremysaid

I believe compulsory religious education is a fantastic idea, compulsory christian ed, however, is not.
Why not teach an unbiased subject based around the history, ideology, differences and similarities of many different faiths, thereby giving children an understanding from an early age that other religions exist and are not necessarily threatening to their own.

also; “our” history and language, who is this in reference to exactly?

Stevesaid

The sentence, ‘No means no.’ is an iconic anti-rape phrase developed to counter the idea commonly held by men that when a woman verbalizes ‘no’ she is signalling ‘yes’ through her mannerisms, dress, her location or any other excuse available for a man to make a judgement on whether a woman wants to have sex with him. ‘She might have said no but really, she was asking for it’, has been a common defence against rape accusations. For Tony Abbott to knowingly (someone who went to uni in Australia when he did would not have been able to avoid it) use that sentence they way he did imo was calculated misogyny. Maybe being out-smarted to the top job by a woman is more than his machismo can bear

katiesaid

I think liberal party rhetoric – scripted and unscripted – is soaked in sexism. They can’t help themselves. In the past 24 hours we’ve had mention of soap operas, of Rudd being Gillard’s date, no means no and so on. We’ve also had our PM being monstered by Latham and Oakes. A disgrace. But there is a deep vein of misogyny here and it will out. I doubt we can elect a woman.

natsaid

“Now are you suggesting to me that when it comes from Julia no doesn’t mean no? I mean perhaps, which Julia was talking to me? But the truth is I can’t be expected to know whether it’s the real Julia or someone else who was talking. She said no repeatedly and when she said no I thought she meant no.”

That’s the whole quote. And what’s with the calling her Julia all the time. She calls him Mr Abbot. How about a bit of respect. It just seems like, especially with Mark Latham’s stand-over tactics the other day that a whole lot of big men are trying to intimidate a woman by using either physical or verbal gestures that contain elements of violence.

COTAsaid

No matter how many reasons we’re given not to vote for Abbott, you can give just as many reasons not to vote for Gillard. Neither candidate shows an overall balance of good. Liberal and Labour will always be somewhat opposite. Australia faces the same decision all the time, and they always will. So, there’s no point complaining. Either way, some portion of Australia is screwed.

natsaid

Yeah, maybe on policy and spin and political dodge games i can find just as many reasons not to vote for Gillard, but on top of that is the fact that tony is a RACIST, SEXIST, HOMOPHOBIC, BIGOTED FOOL. and those things go to what kind of person i want representing my country internationally. He is not it.

Deansaid

Most of these quotes are really not so bad at all I don’t see what the fuss is about.

Why do women hate that TAB dislikes the fact there are so many teen pregnancies and abortions, its a personal view and he has stated this and said he would not ban abortions. I’m pro choice but should we be encouraging or discouraging teen pregnancy and abortions?

The womens aptitude quote – “I think it would be folly to expect that women will ever dominate or even approach equal representation in a large number of areas simply because their aptitudes, abilities and interests are different for physiological reasons”, what he is saying here before you jump up and down in outrage is not that women are inferior just that they are different. Why is it so hard for people to acknowledge that men and women are different, he didn’t say worse. We have different interestes do you think men will ever have equal representation in nursing no not because men don’t have the ability its just they tend to be interested in other things. I reckon more men want to be ceo’s then women and thats the point TAB is making.

The Aboriginal stuff, what’s the problem just saying the word aboriginal makes TAB racist. Telling them to move on and get there act together is so damn un politically correct. Continue learning in your native language its far more usefull then learning english in an english speaking country, english won’t help you at all. What is wrong with the racism declining but poverty not declining quote, he’s simply pointing out that it is not the only reason aboriganals are in poverty and as for invasion day should we be pushing this thinking every year we should boldy say hey we moved here and stole your land or should we say we have said sorry lets look at what we have celebrate a public holiday and move on with getting things better.

My last point is that we have become so stupid and American in our political leanings, it seems this election we are voting for a figure head rather then the party and what their actuall policies are. The parties can bandy about numbers, we are going to spend this many billion on this and that but how much of it is actually going to make any difference. $14B on schools where a shade cloth costs $90,000 and insulation installed by unlicenced trades people, if you can’t see the corruption and ineptitude of the labour government then you have clearly picked who you are voting for based on past aliegence or without logic. Next time you are waiting in traffic or getting a fine from these new speed camera’s or waiting for medical procedures at a public hosipital if the money could maybe have been better spent.

Yansaid

Holy shit Dean I don’t even know where to begin, maybe there’s not really any point as you’re clearly an idiot. But –

As for the ‘Aboriginal stuff’, to be able to move forward the past needs to be taught and known and accepted. Currently people do not know the truth about the colonisation of this country. People are not taught even the beginnings of what went on, the massacres, the dispossession, the unpayed labour, the resistance and resiliance. Ignoring all this in order to celebrate is dishonest and damaging. Also we have not said sorry, Kevin Rudd appologised to the stolen generation, this is only one piece in the history of all that occured and is still occuring. An apology is meaningless unless it is backed up with actions anyway. Denying people the right to learn their native language is denying people the right to their culture. HOLYFUCKINGSHIT YOU ARE A DISGUSTING RACIST ASSHOLE. If you don’t think the gap between indigenous and non indigenous Australian’s is related to racism and dispossession then what exactly do you think it’s related to?

If you seriously think that the reason there are so few women CEO’s is because it is simply something men prefer to do, you are living in a dream world. So what you are essentially saying is that men and women are physialogically different, women aren’t inferior it’s just that men happen to like to be CEO’s, musicians, philosophers, doctors, lawyers, engeneers, builders, mechanics, our worlds leaders, directors, artists, economists, managers, etc, whereas women would just prefer to be nurses, homemakers and teachers? Is that right?… Wake up and start questioning your privilege, you are a douche bag.

Also your comment on chosing who you’re voting for based on past allegiance makes no sense here as this whole post is about reasons not to vote for Tony Abbott. This post is giving logical reasons to vote somewhere other than Liberal, it has nothing to do with past preference.

Sarahsaid

Deano Supremosaid

Deansaid

Haha this was so long ago but I’m supremely bored at work atm. Yan how dare you make this personal I could call you an asshole and a moron but you already know that, not being able to understand what I wrote demonstraits exactly my point about how the left always gets ahead of itself. As to your points:

I agree an apology needs to be backed up actions, I just disagree that those actions should be about reperations and whinging about the past rather then moving forward in a productive manner. A good example of this is the Jews and the Germans, Initially the German’s did provide reperations and still give a little but but you don’t see families jumping up and down for more money and asking for their land back.

I never said anything remotely about banning native languages but I stress the importance of learning english in an english speaking country.

Yan, you did sort of get my point about men and women being physiologically different. Yes Yan men and women are different, women have overies and uterus’s and different hormonal make up to men, to the point where they even have specialised doctors called gynecologists. As a whole if you take a large sample of men and women you will find that they have different interests, there’s a reason you will find more men at a football game then women and more women at something like a high tea for instance. I extrapalate that having different preferences and priorities may be a reason why there are less female CEO’s then Male.

Your right that my final point was a bit off topic but I guess I got carried away a bit like you did.

luffyspsaid

Did you just use the phrase “stupid and American” to describe the way you think Australian politics are going?

Look sister, I am American and I do not take kindly to the “stupid” stereotype. In case you failed to notice, I, like many Americans, am taking the time to learn about YOUR COUNTRY’S politics and elections because I think it is important to know what is going on around me.

Deansaid

Luffysp thanks for taking the time to learn up on Australia’s politics. If I was American I would be annoyed with the stereotype as well but I am sure you are the exception rather then the rule. Sadley however you have to judge America as a whole by the actions of the country and its elected officials (where do you draw the line with your groupings?).

American’s as a group are stupid. There is a mountain of evidence but here are just a bit:

1) Resistance to nationalised health care -America is virtually the only first world country with out universal health care, last data I saw was that they rank 38th in the world in life expectancy. Yet they still strongly oppose improving their healthcare cause they are scared of paying more taxes

2) The lower class routinely votes for political parties who’s policies are to place further economic burden on them and give tax cuts to the wealthy, surely there are more low/mid income people then rich people so I don’t understand why this tends to happen.

3) Conscientious objectionism – In some states in America they have/are pushing for conscientious objection clauses. This means that if you are a doctor and a rape victim comes in and asks you for the pill or an abortion, they can refuse because it doesn’t fit there morals. There are cases like this every week and they include things like refusing to treat patient’s because they are gay.

4) Creationism – do I really need to explain this one.

5) The Wars, enough said

I believe the first example fits my point best about deciding elections in an american way, by looking at the smoke screen and not the underlying policies. Look at the current electoral race what real issues have been brought up by either candidate.

Luffysp, I’m really not a racist, I don’t make any assumptions about individual people when I meet them but I do notice social trends and acknowledge that there are differences in ethnic groups and there tastes, preferences and cultures. Rather then trying to jam everyone in the same box.

Hope you are enjoying your stay here

P.S I really enjoyed the look sister part of your post. Firstly because I like your spunk and secondly because I’m actually a man.

Sashasaid

sustanitysaid

Hello forum
I actually agree with Dean of all the comments I have read at least he was trying to understand where Tony Abbot is comming from Rightest or Leftest :) lighten up your defences it is by understanding your avovates ground you can hopefully change thinking not zealot attacks speaking to the converted understand why he has these attitudes if you stop teen pregancies a lot of social debate will disappear 20yrs later
won’t need to talk about homelesness youth suicide etc I am pro choice but I am also take responsibility in life it cuts out all the poor me syndrome my husband and have 2 children and this was a concious choice we always felt bringing a another life into the world was a great resonsibility equates to all life I am nearly 60 can’t believe it please don’t start I can’t understand I now see it even more clearly and appreciate the new freedoms so don’t take your right to comment for granted use it well and listen well and look at your selves we have been in business for 35yrs and my husband and I have been ying and yang men and women are diffrent hormones say so by respecting the diffrences and working together not against not easy allways we have had major clashes but in all our 40yrs together we still love each other and respect the people we are
I would say to the American I believe in the ideal of your politics but unfortunately they are misused and have become popularity contests run with huge marketing agencies taking billons Australia is following
I care & try to give stability we employ approx 25 people and see a cross section of our society We are very lucky to live in Australia even if the politicans don’t behave in a manner becomming at times at least they are having a go and we have the right to question them
cheero Thinkers :)

[…] a list of some of Abbott’s choice cuts from Jo Tamar and some more from over at the Dawn Chorus. Also yes, boo hoo non-rad-fem-friendly sites, suuuuck it up, cos when I think about Tony Abbott I […]

Georgiasaid

What a guy! Surely he could have wasted his breath on something more relevant to the 21st century…..economy. Your opinions are not relevant or cared for. I’m starting to think the guy should be a women studies teacher! The broadband issue, reducing computers in schools & pulling the pin on many GP surgeries in Aus! Tony you need help.

Ill spend my vote on Julia, who is dedicated to making suitable change to support our economy.

Mattsaid

Yes, many of the comments Abbott have made are ridiculous, but not all. I would agree with some of them, to be honest.
And Gillard is far from perfect herself. To be frank, neither of the current candidates are worth my vote.

Willsaid

I have never wanted to kick a person in the head as badly as I do Tony Abbott. If I am going to hell because his best buddy Jesus thinks my sexuality is a sin then I am saving a place down there for Tony.

John Daniel Riddlersaid

Toney Abbot is the ultimate human rights advocate, he supports the right to life, the most sacred human right of all and Toney Abbott is against killing babies. The law as it stands today requires men to accept responsibility for their actions; men don’t get ‘convenient outs’; it’s about time that women are made to accept responsibility for their actions. The fact is that men don’t get to choose, women should not get to choose either; murder is murder whether it is perpetrated by the father or mother.

Timsaid

Although I agree that abortion is (usually) murder and (always) the taking on an innocent human life, we need to be careful about saying “it’s about time that women are made to accept responsibility for their actions,” since some women don’t have a choice as to whether or not they’re pregnant. I will concede that this number is very small, but it is a number, none the less.
It seems that arguing from the person-hood of the child works much better than ” men don’t get to choose, women should not get to choose either.”

Michael Woodheadsaid

A woman has the right to choose when and if to have children. Until she fully has that right then abortion needs to be an option. Abortion cannot be separated from power imbalance, rape, incest, coercion, domestic violence and control and the lack of effective contraception options.

Douglas Brown.said

I agree with some of Tonys comments. Does this site understand what individual responsibility is? Or does it think that the government should make peoples decisions regarding how they live their lives for them. In the perfect world we wouldn’t need abortion because people would not conceive a child that they did not intend on having. Its both a male and female problem. Abortion is murder. No amount of equal rights propaganda will change that. it seems that based on past events and inequalities that females should be afforded more rights then men in today’s society. Creating another kind of inequality.

To do that, someone would have to show either that (A) there wasn’t a free choice made to kill or (B) who (what) was killed was not a person. There’s all kinds of issues with denying either of those things, if one is going to remain consistent in their thought patterns.

Sashasaid

Women who have abortions are forced to by conditions – either they were sick during the pregnancy, possibly causing birth defects, or they wouldn’t have enough money to properly take care of it. Sometimes the man forces the woman to abort. It’s something that people think through very carefully.
It is better to have a baby die still uncapable of thought than have it die starving, or too sick to live its life properly.

What if the child is concieved through rape? Should the man be held to responsibility?
If you say no, I’m afraid I’ll have to eat your ears.

Brian Mitchellsaid

It’s far too tempting to make fun of this sort of stuff because it is so outlandish it’s difficult to take seriously. But this guy stands a very real chance of being the next prime minister of this country, and he has a very right-wing party behind him that will egg him on, rather than moderate him. Women’s rights will go backwards under an Abbott Government. There is no doubt about that. It is long past time the progressive forces of this country stopped squabbling with each other and worked very seriously to prevent Tony Abbott becoming prime minister. He is no laughing matter.

Lilahsaid

Robbysaid

Does anyone remember Tony Abbott once saying that he was “the moral gatekeeper of the Australian people”? He actually said a lot more at the time in similar context but I can’t remember when or to whom he spoke. I have searched on the net but can’t find these quotes anywhere. I remember being outraged at the time because his narcissistic self aggrandisement knew no bounds. Can anyone find these quotes?